enRICHed: volume 115

much to think about…

Jan 26, 2025

Volume 115

Hey besties!

It’s official, Donald Trump is once again the President of the United States and with a new presidency, comes a new economic plan. It can feel super scary and overwhelming, but it’s important to know the facts and how they’ll impact YOU! This week on the podcast, I give a thorough breakdown about understanding the key elements of Trump's economic strategy: we're talking tax reforms, trade wars, deregulation, and their ripple effects on everything from the stock market to small businesses. Whether you loved or hated his policies, understanding their impact is crucial for making informed financial decisions. You can listen to me solo yap HERE or watch HERE! New episodes of the podcast drop every single Wednesday so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE or follow Networth and Chill wherever you get your podcasts!

Plus, keep up with the podcast on Instagram and TikTok!

As a reminder:

HYCU, pronounced haiku: how the news impacts you and your wallet, aka How You Can Use
The Prosperitea: think discount codes, non-boring finance articles, sales, and personal links from the week. The fun stuff 😉
We love your comments, but please remember to keep it positive! And don’t take investing advice from anyone who isn’t your registered financial advisor!

Now that you’re up to speed, let’s get you enRICHed.

Trump Takes A Strong Stance 📝

It’s the first few days of a new administration and President Trump has already issued several executive orders that will vastly change our workplaces, healthcare and money.
Notably, Trump repealed executive order 14009, which broadened Affordable Care Act healthcare (also known sometimes as Obamacare) access for Americans and their families to parents with young children.
Another decision that got cut was executive order 14052, which invested tax money into developing clean energy and climate change-resilient infrastructure for disadvantaged communities across the country.
Diversity was a big target for many of these orders, too. Trump rolled back executive order 11246, a 60-year-old order signed under President Johnson that required government contractors to give equal opportunity to people of color and women in hiring, training, payment and other workplace practices.
He also repealed executive order 13988, which prevented federal agencies from discriminating against women and LGBTQ+ folks in the workplace, as well as executive orders 14031, 14045, 14049, and 14050, which focused on advancing equity and justice opportunities for AAPI, Latinx, Native American and Black Americans respectively. The logic is that this will allow people to be assessed on their capabilities, but we all know that people were never really assessed entirely on their skills when it comes to hiring and promotion practices, anyway, so the implementation of this will be tricky.
HYCU; This is going to affect everyone in different ways. The rolling back of ACA coverage is going to affect 25% of policy holders, about 20 million people in the US. If this is you, it’s likely that if you have a young child and are on ACA, that coverage may be over, and you may need to switch insurers, which will be more expensive. If you are on government payroll, you could be facing layoffs if these repeals affect your job, and if you’re a woman, LGBTQ+ person or person of color, it’s possible that you could be passed over for job opportunities, raises or promotions simply because of your identity. If you want to research all the repeals Trump has made so far, you can find them on the White House website here.

The President’s New Crypto 💰🇺🇸

The crypto world and Trump are beefing now, after the president launched his own meme coin days before inauguration, and it quickly spiked and fell in value.
Basically, days before he was sworn into office, the president shared a digital coin called $TRUMP on his social media accounts, and soon, it quickly became one of the most valuable crypto coins (it introduced at $6.50, shot up to $75 within a day, and has since fallen to $32, according to CoinGecko). First lady Melania Trump also launched a meme coin last week, $MELANIA, at nearly $7, which jumped up to $13 before dropping below $5 by inauguration day on Monday.
Some long term cryptocurrency users are now kind of peeved off about it because they think it’s “making a mockery” of the industry. Trump has previously said he doesn’t know much about crypto but has been largely in support of it, and this latest move has caused a ton of backlash, where critics say influence and liquidity manipulation could become more important than fundamental value creation in the digital currency space.
The other sticky part of this is that Trump and the team behind it own 80% of the coins so, in theory, they would make billions of dollars if they sold their shares at the current price. When he was asked about the money he was making off the coin, he played it down, saying “several billion—that's peanuts for these guys,” and pointed to the tech billionaires sitting by him for an AI press conference.
HYCU; It’s always important to make sure that you’re not investing any important savings or a crucial part of your portfolio in crypto, and especially meme coins. These currencies are entirely dependent on speculation, making them highly volatile, which means you definitely should not be investing any important money that you need into them. Many of these meme coins, like the viral Hawk Tuah meme coin, have been accused of major pump-and-dump schemes, designed to drive up prices before crashing, and allowing their owners to cash out a ton in profit. So I generally recommend being cautious around these meme coins and focusing instead on other wealth-building channels.

Netflix Price Hike…Again 🛋️📺

See what’s next, horror genre: Netflix announced that it’s raising its subscription prices across the board.
Yes, that’s right. The standard account with ads now costs $7.99 per month (a dollar increase), ad-free subscriptions are $17.99 (making it $2.50 more expensive), while the premium plan is $24.99 (a $2 increase).
This comes after the company reported nearly 19 million new subscribers during the last fiscal quarter of 2024, their largest subscription jump ever during a three-month period. A huge part of this influx is because of live streamed sporting events like the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing event and the Beyoncé halftime show, as well as the return of record-breaking shows like Squid Game. More sporting events are expected to return in 2025, and popular shows like Wednesday and Stranger Things will be coming back with more episodes.
HYCU; Unfortunately, this all means that things are getting even more expensive…once again. When will it END! If you’re scrolling through Netflix and not really excited by the programming or tired of the price hikes, you can also explore free options like Kanopy, the video on-demand streaming service that offers movies, TV, documentaries and more for free. Because it’s linked through public libraries, you can watch everything at no cost—all you need is a free library card or university login. You can also check out free library portals like OpenLibrary and Libby to check out books for free if you’re too busy or lazy to go to the library IRL. I totally get the desire to stay entertained, but don’t break the bank to do it!

Jordynn asks, “Hello! Question: Does anyone know if you want to save for something if you should: 1. Max out Roth and then put what’s left in the sinking fund, 2. Straight to the sinking fund? It’s hard to understand what’s most important.”

Hi Jordynn! When it comes to saving for something specific, like a vacation or a big purchase, you have a couple of options. Here's a quick rundown:

Max out Roth IRA first: This is a great option if you're thinking long-term and want to take advantage of the tax benefits that come with a Roth IRA. Once you've maxed out your contributions for the year, you can then put any remaining money into a sinking fund for your specific goal.
Straight to the sinking fund: If your goal is more immediate (like within the next six months to a year), you might want to prioritize putting money directly into a sinking fund. This way, you can break up the amount you need to save into smaller, manageable chunks and see your progress over time.

Key Points to Consider:

Time Horizon: If your goal is short-term, a sinking fund is likely the better choice. For long-term goals, maxing out your Roth IRA first can be beneficial.
Tax Benefits: Roth IRAs offer tax advantages, so if you have room to contribute and your goal isn't immediate, it might be worth maxing out your Roth IRA first.
Flexibility: Sinking funds give your dollars a specific job and help you avoid dipping into savings for smaller, less important expenses.

Ultimately, it depends on your specific financial situation and goals. If you're unsure, it might be helpful to consult with a financial planner for personalized advice.

Hope this helps, and happy saving!

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SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES